


Meeting Alex

by blakendor



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 13:44:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2152878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakendor/pseuds/blakendor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A couple of years after leaving the team, Blake has kept in touch with her BAU team and decides to go for a visit. When she sees Reid again, he has a great surprise for her. Written for Blake Appreciation Week on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meeting Alex

She had kept in touch with her former co-workers at the BAU as often as she could. When the team had cases in or around Boston, they would get in touch with James and surprise her with a big family dinner. Garcia would send her care packages, which included some of the tea of the month and little trinkets to remind her of her time in Quantico, and a lot of her letters were also written on the BAU letterhead with her bright pink pen. JJ had taken Will and Henry on a trip to Boston to 'see the sights', and met up with her for lunch. The two of them would keep in touch with text messages and e-mails every once in a while. Morgan came up to Boston for a couple of Blackhawks games during the NHL seasons, and offered her his extra ticket. They'd drink a couple of beers, chat during intermissions, and Morgan would stay in her guest room after. Though Hotch was often busy with Jack, he would still call once or twice a month to check up on her, and Rossi would do the same.

That left Spencer. She thought after leaving her credentials in his bag and not giving him a real, proper goodbye, he'd resent her, thinking of her on the same level as Jason Gideon and his own father. Luckily, he had understood her reasoning, and knew that the job had gotten to her. He wrote to her as often as he could, updating her on the team and different cases they had solved. She would write back with how her classes were going and interesting stories about their students. They also would keep each other updated on their crossword puzzle times, and she was rather proud of herself when she'd beaten his record time.

In his last letter, Spencer had written that he wanted to see her again, face-to-face. She wasn't sure the reason, but her students were on break and she had the time, so she caught the first flight out that she could get and told him where she was staying. After arriving at the airport, he sent her a text to meet her at the park where Spencer would play chess. So there she was, with his favorite coffee order, waiting for him to arrive.

Somebody took the seat beside her and she set down her coffee. "I'm sorry, that seat's saved."

"Wow, the person you're saving it for must be really important if you've saved their spot with a large coffee, four sugars," Spencer said, picking it up and taking a sip.

She smiled, setting her own cup down and wrapping her arms around him. "It's good to see you."

He patted her back. "It's great to see you too." He pulled back, wincing when a loud wail came from next to him. "And she's awake." He pushed back the hood of the carriage, picking up the infant and securely wrapping her blanket around her. "What are we crying for, huh?"

She grinned. "Has she started to let you sleep at night yet?"

"Sleep?" he asked. "What is this _sleep_ you speak of? Neither the BAU or a three month old allow for it to happen."

"Mind if I try?" she asked, holding out her arms.

"Be my guest." He moved her into Blake's waiting arms, setting the diaper bag between them. "Feel free to use _anything_ in there to try to calm her down, because it's a fun little mystery game."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," she said softly, rubbing her back.

He raised his eyebrows. "You'll see soon enough."

She smiled, looking down at her. "Did the surrogate have any separation anxiety?" she asked, fixing her blanket and pushing it away from her face.

He shook his head. "She was her usual, bubbly self in no time. Of course the fact that she's able to see her all the time helps."

She paused, eyebrow raised. " _Bubbly_? Sees her all the time?" she gasped. " _Garcia_?"

"She saw me stressed out by the whole surrogate process and volunteered. Being the godmother definitely helped the situation a lot too."

"I'll bet, and I guess I know where those cheeks and lips came from." She stroked the infant's cheek, shhing and rubbing her back. "It's okay."

"Oh yes. She's _thrilled_ that the baby got something from her, and can't wait until she's older so she can play dress-up and take her shopping and they can have sleepovers. I swear, half of the reason she said she'd do it was so she could play with her."

She laughed softly. "It wouldn't surprise me." She put a pacifier into her mouth, smiling when she calmed down. "And there we go. Now, will your father tell me why he's being so ambiguous?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, that's why it's only 'the baby' or 'her' when you write to me."

He smirked. "Well, I guess you could say that's because I wanted to tell you this in person."

She raised an eyebrow, turning to him. "To tell me _what_ in person?"

He reached over, putting his finger into the infant's hand and letting her squeeze it. "This little one? Her name's Alexandra Reid. Alexandra, which comes from the Greek, meaning defender of man-"

Blake paused, looking over at him. "You named your daughter Alex?"

" _Alexandra_ ," he corrected. "But yes, Alex for short. I let Garcia pick her middle name, you know, as a thank you for everything. She suggested Alexandra, but then I told her that was her first name, so she had to come up with something completely different. She landed on Jean, after Jean Grey, so I guess to correct myself, her name is Alexandra Jean Reid."

She blinked. "...You named your daughter Alex," she repeated, trying not to cry. "Reid-"

He put his hand up. "There was no name out there she deserved more. Believe me, I went through that book you sent a _lot_ trying to find the perfect one, but I kept coming back to it. It's perfect."

She smiled. "I guess so." She moved the blanket and looked up at him. "And I see she's wearing the Harvard onesie I sent."

"It's one of her goals, you know, having to choose between Yale, CalTech, and Harvard," he joked.

"I'll bet you'll stress the academics," she said. "So how does it work, with the team and cases and parenting?"

"If they absolutely need me on a case, Garcia takes her to daycare in the morning, picks her up and works with her in the office until she can go home at night. Other than that, Garcia and I have pretty much become our own team, working together. Then I pick Alexandra, or 'Lexie' as Garcia prefers to call her, and spend the night at home with her. Believe me, it's not easy when they need me. About 90% of my first case back with the team had me giving the silent treatment, internalizing everything, then finally locking myself in the jet bathroom on the way home, crying for at least half of the trip. Garcia's great with sending pictures and Skype invitations, but it's not the same as being there, you know?"

"I can imagine." She got up, moving over to the carriage and setting the sleeping infant inside. "She's perfect, and I could've told you that 'Lexie' would be coming. It's all I was called growing up."

He sipped his coffee, shrugging. "It could be worse."

"That it could."

* * *

They were able to sit there and talk for about an hour before the baby woke up again.

Spencer turned to Alex. "Do you want to take this back to my place? She's due for a feeding, change, and a nap _actually_ in her crib. She's on a schedule, and I really don't want to disturb it."

"Say no more. You know, we could've done this at the apartment, to save you some trouble?"

He shook his head. "I needed fresh air, coffee not from my coffeemaker, and the two of us to get out for a little bit. Believe me, I needed this."

She laughed to herself and picked up the empty coffee cups, throwing them into the trash nearby and following him back to his apartment building.

With the carriage, they took the elevator up to his floor, Spencer stopping in front of his door. He took one look at it and sighed, knocking.

"What are you doing?"

"Garcia, stop picking the lock. I gave you a key."

Blake looked at him, confused, until Garcia opened the door. "Well excuse me if I left it at work and needed to get in to provide my little Lexie Boo with her meals," she said, holding the door open.

No sooner had he pushed the carriage inside had Garcia scooped her up, walking to the kitchen and taking a bottle out of the fridge, unscrewing the top and putting it into the microwave.

Blake closed the door behind her, taking off her jacket and hanging it up. "Does this happen often?"

"More often than not. I think she enjoys breaking and entering," he said, setting the diaper bag down.

Garcia walked in. "And where were we this fine afternoon?" she asked, feeding the infant.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, pointing to Blake. "Meeting up with her namesake?"

Garcia gasped, carefully handing the baby to Spencer before walking over, pulling her into a hug. "It is so absolutely fantastic to see you again!" she squealed. "How's Boston? Teaching? James? Everything!" She pulled back and sat on the couch, pulling Blake's arm to sit beside her.

Blake smiled. "Boston's great, teaching's good, and being with James is amazing." She pointed toward Spencer. "So you couldn't let me in on the secret?"

"I figured he would've told you, so I didn't want to be repetitive in my letters. Then Sam saw me all swollen and preggers and now wants one of our own so _that'll_ be a fun conversation." She shook her head. "How long are you in town for?"

"Just a few days. My students are on spring break and I've graded all of my papers."

She clapped her hands together. "Dinner, tomorrow night, Rossi's. Say yes _please_ say yes."

"...Yes?"

She took out her phone, putting up a finger to her and calling Rossi, walking out of the room.

Spencer looked down at the baby. "Looks like tomorrow night Daddy's playing another game of 'pass you around to the aunts and uncles'. Let's hope they all remember to wash their hands."

Blake laughed to herself. "I take it that happens a lot?"

He nodded, sitting in his armchair. "Rossi's actually quite fond of her. He refers to her as his _nipote_."

She raised an eyebrow. "Italian for ' _grandchild_ '?"

"Mhm. Then there's Morgan who dotes over her but will never admit it. She's his Baby Pretty Girl," he laughed to himself. "And JJ? She's almost as bad as Garcia. Every time I see her, never fail, she has bags upon bags of baby clothes and toys for her, because she has zero faith in me to know how to dress her."

"That doesn't surprise me. Other than the fact she doesn't let you sleep at night, I take it she's a good baby?"

He looked down at her, smiling. "I know I'm incredibly biased, but she's the best. She loves when I read to her. It doesn't matter if it's the newspaper or my crossword hints or a fairy tale book. She's enthralled by it. I did it when Garcia was pregnant too, as often as she'd let me, and that'd be when she would kick the most."

Garcia walked in, scoffing. "Even when I told him she found her way to my bladder and kicking it was super uncomfortable." She sat down beside Blake. "But seeing that cutie pie makes it 1000% worth it, not to mention seeing the Boy Wonder happy."

"I can agree with you there," Blake said, looking over at Spencer and grinning as he baby-talked and watched her eat. "I've never seen him this happy." She nudged Garcia with her arm. "Thank you for doing it for him."

"Believe me, despite the swelling and the labor and the pain, oh dear _God_ was there pain, I'd do it all over again for him."

"He tells me you wanted her middle name to be 'Alex'."

She smiled, nodding. "I did. When I was pregnant, you know, he talked names he was thinking about, but after she was born and he was holding her for the first time, he called her Alexandra and started crying because he was so happy and it fit so well." She patted her leg. "I've seen people come and go on this team, but you really made an impact on him, and I appreciate that."

"Makes two of us," she said, swallowing, trying not to get choked up. "Is he okay with, you know, working, leaving her alone?"

She waved her hand in the air. "Kind of? I mean, look at her, how could you not want to spend every single second of your life with an adorable Garcia and Reid production who's got his permanent bedhead and the chubbiest little baby cheeks that are absolutely pinchable? It was hard at first, but he realized that he has to work so he throws himself into it 100%, but once the day's over, you can barely say a goodbye to him before he's out the door."

"Doesn't surprise me in the least," she said, looking over at Spencer and smiling at the highly intelligent man babbling and baby-talking to the infant.

* * *

The following afternoon, Blake had received a text from Garcia to meet up at Rossi's. When she pulled up, she saw Spencer's car already there, adorned with a 'Baby On Board' sticker in the back window. She shook her head, walking up to the house and knocking.

Rossi opened the door and upon seeing her, wrapped his arms around her. "It's good to see you again."

She smiled, patting his back. "Great to see you too." She pulled back. "Is the gang all here?"

He nodded. "For the most part. I'm afraid it's awkward reunion time." He reached over on the counter, handing her a glass of wine, which she took and sipped.

"Who was at the door, Rossi?" JJ asked, motioning toward her phone. "I just had to talk to Henry to get him to take his medicine. Thanks to whatever kid at preschool gave him a cold."

Rossi smirked. "See for yourself."

She looked up, gasping. "Alex!" she walked over, pulling her into a hug. "I didn't know you were coming by! Please tell me you're in town for a few more days."

"I'll be here until Saturday," she said, tapping the side of her wine glass. "How's Henry doing?"

"Oh, he's great. Absolutely great. And he _loves_ being a big cousin to little Alex. If he's around her, you need to ask his permission to hold her. How did it feel knowing you're what inspired the name for your friend's baby?"

She put her hands up, shrugging. "I didn't know. He only told me yesterday."

JJ took her hand, walking to the living room and eyeing Spencer. "Spence, you only told Alex about little Alex _yesterday_? What in the world is wrong with you?"

He was seated cross-legged in front of her swing and glanced up at her. "She knew she existed, she just didn't know her name. I was purposely ambiguous because it was something I felt needed to be said in person. I wanted to be able to see her reaction."

"So help me God, Jennifer Jareau, if your loud talking wakes up my Lexie before her nap is finished," Garcia warned, taking a seat in an armchair, "she's yours for the night and Boy Wonder gets a night off."

She put her hands up. "Consider it noted."

When Morgan showed up, he hugged her from behind, grinning from ear to ear then sitting beside her.

"So, Blackhawks are back in Boston in February," he said, sitting beside her. "Are you in?"

She smiled. " _Always_. What do you say, is she going to be a Chicago or a Boston fan?" she asked, pointing to the infant.

Derek scoffed. "Please, if we want her into sports, we need to intercept Garcia's immersion of her in everything pink and fluffy, because you know Pretty Boy won't do a damn thing about it. I'd say she can be introduced to both, and when the time's right, she can choose which of the teams she wants. Though if she's given candy to say 'Chicago', I can't be held responsible."

"Even though you'll completely be responsible," Garcia said, looking at Alex. "Boston it is."

Derek put a hand to his chest. " _Hurtful_."

Garcia winked at her and Blake laughed, realizing she missed the two of them poking fun at each other.

* * *

During dinner, she was the center of attention, and everyone wanted to know how her life was going. She was flattered that they all cared so much, but even as a child, she never cared to have all of the focus on her. When they would bring up a topic, she would find a way to deflect it mid-sentence and bring up a different topic with somebody else.

Rossi held up his wine glass. "To Alex Blake, a good former agent, great teacher, and an amazing friend."

Everyone held up their glasses, clinking them together, and she smiled, taking a sip.

Hotch set down his glass as his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and sighed, putting up a finger and walking out of the room.

Garcia groaned. "Oh, not _now_ ," she whined. "We finally have a family dinner with the old gang back together."

JJ sighed. "Unfortunately, serial killers don't take vacations." She picked up everyone's plates, walking to the kitchen and setting them in the sink.

Hotch walked back, looking around at his team.

"When do we leave?" Derek put plainly.

"A couple of hours," he said, looking at Spencer. "Does that give you enough time to arrange something?"

Spencer clicked his tongue. "I think the daycare said they're closed for the next couple of days, so I could try to find someone else." He took out his phone, looking through it. "JJ, did that nanny yours recommended take that job in New Jersey?"

"Unfortunately," she said, turning on the hot water in the sink.

Blake looked up at him. "I'll be in town for the next few days, I wouldn't mind watching her for you."

Spencer paused, turning to her. "You'd take her?"

She shrugged. "I'm around, I'm on vacation, you need the help, and I'd be happy to do it."

Spencer's eyes widened. "...Thank you." He got up, looking at Rossi. "Do you mind if I skip out on dessert to get her home?"

Rossi held up his hands. "Not at all. Having heard that baby cry, Alex Blake, I wish you luck."

She gave a small smile. "I think I can handle it."

He winked at her. "We'll see."

She helped Spencer pack up everything for her and walked out to her car, getting in and driving back to the hotel to grab her bag.

* * *

Once back at Spencer's apartment, she knocked on the door. Spencer walked over, opening the door and handing her the key.

"That's my spare key, please don't lose it. I'll have to give it to the nanny once Rossi hires her, because he's insisting I need one, and he's apparently paying for the expenses," he explained, walking over to the couch and picking up a notebook, writing something down.

She raised an eyebrow, stepping inside and closing the door. "Rossi's going to pay a nanny for you?"

"He claims that daycare centers aren't always reliable and a nanny would be around whenever I would need her. And he says since I take care of my mother, he should take care of Alex?" He shrugged. "I don't know, it's his logic."

"It makes sense to me," she said, walking over and sitting down. "What are you working on?"

He cleared his throat, flipping through the pages. "First we have phone numbers. I understand you have the phone numbers for everybody on the team but just in case, there's all of those, her doctor, fire department, police department - it's not that I don't trust you, but I'm leaving her with you for the first time. I'm sure you can understand my reasoning."

She nodded, motioning toward the notebook. "Continue."

He turned the page. "Next we have her sleeping and eating schedule. She may not stick to this exactly, but these are her current times and it seems to work best for her. Just warm up the bottle in the microwave, test it on your arm, feed her, burp her. She doesn't usually spit up but if she does, there are plenty of burping cloths in the pack and play and the nursery." He swallowed. "She sleeps fairly regularly, as noted here." He moved onto the next page. "Her favorite toys, her favorite stories, limit television as much as possible around her unless it's educational which is a rule that Garcia always breaks… Like I said before, she loves the sound of someone's voice talking to her, so you can read anything and she'll be happy."

She took the notebook, reading through the notes. "Anything else?"

He took a deep breath, sighing. "She's a good baby, for the most part. She stays quiet unless she absolutely needs something, and it's usually pretty easy to figure out. Garcia bought her a yellow monkey, and it's her favorite toy, so if nothing else is calming her down, try the monkey."

Blake saw that he was getting upset and reached over, rubbing his back. "She's going to be fine, Spencer. It's a couple of days, and Garcia's going to be around to check on her. If she's anything like her namesake, she's going to stay strong and be thrilled to see you when you come home."

He smiled slightly, nodding and exhaling. "I need to go pack my go-bag." He motioned toward the swing beside him. "She's just staring up at the ceiling, so feel free to talk to her."

"Don't mind if I do."

While Spencer was in his room packing, she sat on the couch, closer to the swing and reaching down, fixing the blanket over her. "Well hello there," she said, grinning when the infant looked up to her. "I know we've already met, but my name, much like yours, is Alex." She turned to the bedroom. "Are you Dad, Daddy, Papa...?"

Spencer zipped up his bag. "I'm trying Daddy."

She smiled. "Your Daddy wanted you for so long, and I'm so happy that your Aunt Penny helped get you here. You know you look just like him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had you in sweater vests and little ties to prove it."

Spencer put his bag over his shoulder. "That's been banned by Garcia, unfortunately." He walked out to the living room, squatting in front of the swing and smiling, stroking her cheek with his finger. "I've been told that an adorable little button like this needs to be in skirts and dresses and cute little tops. No office attire allowed." He leaned over, kissing her forehead. "Because my little button deserves to look like the royalty she is."

She smirked, enjoying seeing Spencer so happy. "That sounds like it would be a direct quote from Garcia."

"That's because it is." He sat beside the swing, taking her out and resting her against his knees, taking her hands and leaning in, kissing her forehead. "Daddy's going to miss you, button. Be a good girl for Aunt Alex, okay? I want you to show her that I'm doing a super good job with you."

"I don't need to see it, I know it," she assured him.

He smiled, kissing her forehead again, squeezing her hands. "I love you." When her response was a coo, he set her back on the swing, kissing her cheeks. "Be good."

"She will."

He stood up, fixing his bag on his shoulder.

"You can call me whenever you need to," she told him. "My phone will be on at all times. If you're feeling anxious or nervous or just need to hear her breathing, give me a call, I'll answer, you can talk to her, and it'll be fine." She took out her phone, putting it on full volume and showing him. "I promise."

He nodded slightly, toying with the strap on his bag. "I'll call you when we land."

"I'll be waiting. Do I need to give her a bath tonight, or did she have one earlier?"

"She had one before we left the house, though obviously if she gets sick or something, clean her up." He swallowed. "Thank you, Alex."

"It's my pleasure, honestly, I'm glad I could help."

He gave her an awkward smile and nodded before walking out, closing the door behind him.

She sat down on the couch, resting her head against her hand and looking down at Alex, smiling. From the little she'd seen her, she seemed like a very happy baby. Ever since she heard from JJ that Spencer had wanted kids, she wondered what he would be like as a father, and she had to admit that this is above and beyond what she'd pictured. When she saw Spencer as a father in her mind, she pictured him over-thinking every situation, panicking, and wondering why everything wasn't by the books. Instead, he was relaxed and went with everything as it came along. Though he had some panic, that was perfectly normal for a first time parent. The truth of the matter was that Spencer Reid was a father, and he was absolutely in love with it.

* * *

A few hours later, she heard her phone going off beside her. She shifted her arms and grabbed her phone, leaning it against her shoulder and answering it.

"Hi, Spencer," she said, putting the bottle to Alex's lips. "We're just enjoying dinner here."

"I see you're sticking to her schedule."

"To a T. I take it you've landed?"

"Yeah, we're checking into the hotel and getting an early start in the morning. She's doing okay? She's behaving and she's just… she's fine?"

"More than fine," she assured him, smiling to herself. "And making the most adorable piggy noises while she eats."

"Unfortunately, Garcia gave her a nickname, 'Little Miss Piggy', and she calls her that whenever she feeds her. _Please_ don't use it."

"I promise I won't. Anything else?"

"I think that about covers it. I forget to mention it but if you have trouble getting her to sleep and even the monkey fails you, stories work every time."

"I'll be sure to pick one of the hundred books she has sitting in her nursery. Want to say goodnight?"

"...Could I?"

"Yeah, hold on." She shifted her position and eyed the phone, putting it on speaker. "Go ahead."

Spencer took a deep breath. "Alex, Daddy loves you, okay? Goodnight, and I'll talk to you in the morning."

Blake looked down at the infant and smiled to herself. "She recognized your voice and she's looking very happy right now. I'll talk to you soon."

"Thank you."

"Of course. Bye, Spencer." She hung up, looking down at her as she finished her bottle. "And there we go!"

* * *

Alex had gone to sleep easily for her and the following morning, after feeding her, she sat on the floor beside her swing, reading to her. She'd look up after each page to be sure she was still awake and interested. Lo and behold, every single time she paused and looked up, the infant babbled, and she took that as her cue to keep going.

She was mid-sentence when she heard a key in the lock, and she knew that Garcia was coming to check in on them. She didn't even stop, and once the door opened she said a quick 'Hello, Garcia' before returning to the book.

"And what are we reading this morning?" Garcia asked, walking in and setting a couple of bags on the kitchen counter.

"Oh, we're currently wrapped up in _The Giving Tree_. Spencer put it on the list of books that she likes, and judging by her reactions, she absolutely loves it."

Garcia walked over, handing her a coffee cup. "Here, I'll take over, you get a good caffeine boost."

Blake smiled, holding the book out to her and sitting on the couch, tucking her legs underneath herself and sipping the coffee.

When Garcia finished the book, she lifted Alex out of the swing, kissing her forehead and grinning. "Oh, your Auntie Alex dressed you so adorably today!"

"I knew you'd be proud," she said, getting up and walking to the kitchen to fill up her cup. "What did you bring with you?"

"Just a few things for my princess," Garcia baby-talked, nuzzling her nose. "And I brought you some breakfast, because I know she can be a teeny tiny bit of a handful in the morning, not giving you enough time to enjoy more than a Pop-Tart. Go ahead, eat, I've got her."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

She opened up the tray, eating her food. "Was she easy on you on the inside?"

Garcia shrugged. "Easy- _ish_. I mean, from what I've read, no pregnancy is an absolute cake-walk. But seeing this widdle face made it all worth it!"

Blake smiled, swallowing. "Was Alex always on the table?"

"Pretty much from the very beginning. If It was a boy, Alexander, and if it was a girl, Alexandra. It was all his idea and he only told me after she was born. He looked through the names book to give the impression that he was clueless, but he always knew. The night after she was born, we got to talking, and I asked him about it. He told me that no other name made sense to him, and from conception, the baby was an Alex." She got up, walking out to the kitchen. "And I honestly couldn't see her as anything else. Look at this little honey bun. She's an Alex!"

Blake looked over and smirked, nodding. "I can't argue with that."

Garcia stuck around for an hour before sighing, checking the clock. "As much fun as I'm having, sitting here and looking at my little gumdrop doesn't catch the bad guys." She kissed her forehead, then looked at Blake, motioning toward the fridge. "I put some lunch in there for you for when she takes her afternoon nap. I grabbed your favorite: some grilled turkey on rye and sweet potato chips. I also don't know Reid's tea situation, so I stole the entire box of your brand from the stash at work. It can be our little secret."

"My lips are sealed." She reached out, taking Alex and grabbing her hand, waving it to Garcia. "Say bye."

Garcia smiled at her, blowing kisses to the infant and waving back, grabbing her purse off of the counter and walking out, closing the door behind her.

Blake turned to the infant. "How about we give your Daddy a call, and then we can read another book?" She grabbed her phone from the table, dialing Spencer's number and putting it on speaker, walking with her around the apartment.

"Hello?"

"Hey, good night's sleep?"

"Not exactly. Thank you for answering my call in the middle of the night so I could hear her. It meant a lot."

"No problem, I'm glad it helped." She sat on the couch. "Did you send Garcia by, or was that her own doing?"

"Both, I guess? I asked her to stop by last night. I trust you, I do, but-"

She shook her head. "Say no more, it's fine."

"What are you two up to?"

"Well, Garcia just finished an hour of playing peek-a-boo and baby-talking, so we might read another book before her next feeding and nap."

"It sounds like she's having fun and a lot of stimulation."

"Indeed." She turned to the infant. "Say hi to your Daddy, he's on the phone."

"Hi, Alex. Daddy misses you." She could hear Spencer light up just talking to his daughter and enjoyed hearing him this happy. When she babbled as a response, Spencer laughed. "I see, good to know. I need to head to the station and get to work. I'll call you in a little bit."

"Talk to you then, Spencer." She hung up the phone, setting it back on the table before putting her into her swing, grabbing another book and starting it.

Garcia had stopped by at lunch and again after dinner to spend time with her 'little peanut'. Blake was beginning to wonder just how many nicknames were stored for use for the child. Nevertheless, she enjoyed seeing her interact and loved to see the baby light up at the sight of her. She read to her whenever she had the chance, and she enjoyed being able to spend time with her. She'd received several updates from Spencer about her over the last few months, but being able to experience her in person was just what she needed to cheer her life up. And sharing a name definitely didn't hurt either.

* * *

Spencer came home the following night, opening the door and barely closing the door before walking up to Blake, taking the baby out of her arms and kissing her forehead.

"No paperwork? That was nice of the unsub," Blake said, looking up at him.

He shook his head. "Hotch let me go early so I could come home to her," he explained, grinning when she babbled at him. "Yes, Daddy's home!"

Blake got up, packing up her bag. "She's absolutely the perfect child. I may be a little biased, considering the name, but she's so well-behaved and dear God is she lovable."

Spencer grinned, nodding. "That last one I'm sure is a trait from her birth mother." He kissed her cheeks, rubbing her back. "She had her bottle an hour ago?"

"Indeed, and she ate it all up." She zipped up her go-bag. "I'll leave you two to your alone time."

"Thank you so much for keeping an eye on her for me. She seems like she really enjoyed her time with you, at least from the pictures I saw."

Blake looked at him, confused. "I didn't send you any pictures of the two of us what are you- Garcia," she said, coming to the conclusion.

He nodded, reaching down and opening up his bag, holding out copies to her. "Garcia says those are for you and calls them 'absolute gems'."

She looked through the pictures, smiling and nodding. "That they are." She turned to Spencer. "I'd be happy to watch her again anytime I'm in town. Seriously, she's great."

"And I'm sure she'd love to spend more time with her Auntie Alex," he said, kissing her cheek again and walking her to the door. "Thanks again."

"You don't need to thank me. She's great." She bent down to the infant's eye level. "I'll see you soon, okay? Your Daddy's going to take you for a ride to the airport tomorrow so I can go back to my boring life that doesn't involve Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein."

"Poor you," Spencer said jokingly, smiling at her and taking Alex's hand, waving it to her. "We'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, fixing her bag on her shoulder and handing him the spare key, walking out and closing the door behind her.

* * *

The next afternoon, Spencer picked Blake up at her hotel. She put her bag into the backseat, smiling at the infant who was wide awake and looking at her toys in her car seat.

"Did you enjoy your first night back with her?" she asked, getting in and closing the door, buckling her seatbelt.

Spencer nodded. "Oh yes. Last night we played a fun new game she invented."

"That sounded awfully sarcastic."

He nodded, wringing his hands on the steering wheel. "The 'just keep reading, Daddy, I'll get tired eventually' game. I got to a point where I handed her the monkey, turned on her nightlight and walked out, or I never would've gotten sleep."

"Were you okay with that?"

"I had no choice, I had to work this morning."

"Let me guess, Garcia watched her in her lair while you worked for a few hours?"

"Bingo." He leaned back to check that Alex was still buckled in securely then started the car, pulling out of the spot.

"Are you excited to get back to Boston?"

She shrugged. "I did enjoy being able to spend time with the team again and I felt at home again, but really, I just need to get back to my life back in Boston."

"It makes sense. You're welcome to come back anytime and you can stay on my couch, you don't need to get a hotel room."

She smiled. "I appreciate the invitation, but Rossi already offered up one of his many guest rooms if I return at least once a year, so I think I'll take that offer. But I'll definitely be visiting with little Alex when I can. She's _kind of_ the perfect infant."

Spencer laughed to himself, nodding. "She is indeed."

Spencer had parked his car in the garage and went into his trunk, taking out the carriage and setting it up.

"You could always just drop me off at the door?" she said. "If that would make your life easier."

He shook his head. "I have the afternoon off, I have all the time in the world to do this." The carriage finally snapped into place. "Ha!"

"IQ of 187 and you can figure out a child's carriage." She clapped her hands together, smirking.

"It had to come in handy for something," he told her, opening the back door and taking out the car seat, snapping it into place. He held out Blake's bag to her and she got out, taking it from him. "It must be odd, going back to regular flights after going on the jet for two years."

"It's an adjustment," she explained, putting the bag over her shoulder. "But I guess you get used to going coach again over time. I imagine it's that way when you fly home to Vegas."

"Yeah. In a few months, I think Alex is going to take her first trip to see my mother. Now that she's having better days more often, it seems like the perfect time," he said, pushing the carriage toward the doors.

"I definitely think Diana would be proud of you and absolutely adore her. I take it you wrote to her about your situation?"

He nodded slightly. "I had to introduce her to Garcia and she had to ask her a few questions first. But she told her that she takes care of me in her absence and my mother approved of her pretty quickly. She gets daily letters of her activities and pictures whenever I have them."

"And I'm sure her room is decorated with them," she assured him, walking over to a bench and sitting down.

Spencer sat down beside her. "This is a present from Garcia," he started, opening up the diaper bag, "but considering it involves Alex, it's kind of from me too."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He took out a small scrapbook, handing it to her.

She grabbed the card on the front, reading it out loud. "'From one Alex to the other'." She opened it up and flipped through the pages, smiling to herself. "Tell her I love it."

"She also put in some extra pictures, they're in the back cover, and she says you can frame those for your house or office as needed… and she'll send you photos whenever she can. Considering she's practically her personal photographer, expect packages often."

She nodded, leaning over and hugging him. "I really appreciate it, thank you."

He looked up at the board and sighed. "Your flight leaves in a couple of hours, you might want to go through security."

She looked at the time and nodded. "Probably."

He reached into the carriage, lifting Alex out. "But first, I think somebody might want to say a goodbye."

She grinned, reaching out and taking her. "I think that sounds like a great idea." She smiled even wider, resting her finger in the infant's palm. "Well, Alex, it was amazing to finally meet you in person, and I promise I'll be back to see you soon. I also promise that I'll check in on you and send you little presents, but you need to do something for me. I want you be a _very_ good girl for your Dad, because he's probably the best you could ever possibly get. And when the day comes where you're applying to colleges, remember, Harvard doesn't only have a Law School, you can study anything you want there."

Spencer smiled when he saw Alex grip her finger, then babble and coo in response.

"I'll take that as your way of saying 'I'll be the best daughter ever for him and I can't wait to go to Harvard." She leaned in, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back before setting her back in the carriage. She then stood up, turning to Spencer. "I expect updates about her and the team, and in return, I'll let you know when I'll be back."

"It sounds like a good deal." He stood up, putting the diaper bag over his shoulder before sighing, eyeing her before stepping forward, wrapping his arms around her. "It was really good to see you, Alex."

She rubbed his back. "It was great to see you too." She pulled back. "And I expect Lexie to be a very happy baby."

"You're onto the Lexie now too?"

She shrugged slightly. "Well, if you're going to call me Alex, we don't want it getting confusing." She smiled at him before picking up her bag, putting it over her shoulder. "I'll see you soon. No goodbyes, because we'll see each other again." She knew how much Spencer disliked saying goodbyes, and didn't want him to be upset.

He nodded, waving slightly and waiting until she'd made it through security before heading out.

* * *

When she arrived back in Boston, she put her scrapbook on the living room table, tracing the name 'Alex' on the front cover in glittered letters with her finger. She then looked around for some empty picture frames, putting up a few of the pictures she had with her little namesake.

"Are we redecorating?" James asked from behind her.

She smiled, turning around to face him. "We are when former colleagues name their children after me."

He reached around her, picking up the picture and looking at it. "Spencer's daughter, I presume?"

She bit down on her lip, smiling and nodding. "That is Alexandra Jean Reid, future Harvard alumni."

"Is she going to become part of our living room now?"

"It's entirely possible."

He looked at the picture before setting it on the mantle. "Then I guess it's a good thing she's an adorable baby, and she's got one hell of a name."

She pulled him into a hug, hooking her chin on his shoulder.

"Did you enjoy seeing your second family again?" he asked, rubbing her back.

She nodded. "We were invited back there for pretty much every holiday and any weekend we want to visit."

He pulled back. "Well, I think at some point, I'd like to meet this little namesake, see for myself if she's worthy of the name."

She nudged him. "She is _very_ worthy."

They sat down on the couch together and she grabbed the scrapbook, going through it with him, page by page.

Over the years, Alex made it her mission to go back at least twice a year, and at least once a year, someone from the team would come up to Boston to visit. James had met Alex not long after her trip, and he agreed that she was, in fact, the perfect little Alex. Anytime Alex did it something, whether it was a small accomplishment or something as big as her first steps, her first words, or anything of the such, she received pictures, letters, and even video updates. As soon as Alex had learned to talk, she would call Blake to talk to her and show off her talking skills, and Blake would talk to her as long as she would want. When Alex had learned to write, she had insisted on sending her Aunt Alex her name, because it was the same. Much like a proud parent, her fridge was covered in pictures, words, and drawings. Garcia would also send her scrapbooks every single year of her life to keep her up to date. Several things were highlighted, such as her spelling bee and science fair wins, the first time she rode a bike and roller skated (with Spencer running close behind looking panicked), her first lost tooth, and what had to be her absolute favorite, the year she decided she was Auntie Alex for Halloween. Her relationship with Alex reminded her of Spencer's with Henry. She never imagined that someone would name their child after her - though she had some life accomplishments, she hardly felt worthy. But after meeting her and seeing her grow up, there was not a single doubt in mind that the little Reid girl was the perfect Alex.


End file.
